Wildfire Run

by Dee Garretson

  Luke felt like crying now. He knew the commander was making a joke so Luke would stay calm, just like his mom and dad did when things went bad. The colonel’s jeep was almost a legend at Camp David. It was ancient, a huge old jeep with extra seats in the back, and so beat up, it looked like it had survived many wars, but the colonel always refused to give it up.

  “Son, listen.” The colonel beckoned to Luke to get closer. “There’s a pass code to open the back gate if they can’t get it open remotely. The whole system is in lockdown, because this gatehouse was compromised by the accident. You have to type in the override code; do you understand? The code today is four-nine-eight-three-two-eight. Can you remember? Four-nine-eight-three-two-eight. Say it back to me.”

  Luke tried to calm down enough to get it in his head.

  “I can remember,” Theo said, coming up behind Luke. “Four-nine-eight-three-two-eight.”

  “Are you sure? Is your head okay?” Luke asked.

  “It feels like it might explode at any second, but I can still remember a six-digit number.” Theo sounded angry, but Luke didn’t want to take the time to find out why. “I want to find my glasses,” Theo said.

  “Go ahead. Can’t we do anything for you, Colonel Donlin?” Luke asked.

  “No, you need to hurry.”

  Callie brought over what looked like part of a chair cushion. “If we put this behind your back, you can sit up better, and you’ll be able to breathe better.” Luke pulled the colonel up slightly and slipped the cushion behind him.

  “Now go,” the colonel said. “That’s an order.” He tried to smile again.

  “We’ll hurry,” Luke said. “As soon as we let them in the back gate, someone will come get you. Colonel, I think we should try to take Isabelle.”

  “No, son, she’s…she’s…Just go….” The colonel’s voice trailed off.

  Luke felt everything go fuzzy and dim, as if he were looking down a long tunnel at the colonel far in the distance. He reached out and grabbed the car door to steady himself, putting his head down on the window. It was cooler than the air around him, and it felt so good he didn’t want to move.

  “It’s not fair,” Callie said. “I didn’t even want to come here in the first place. I want to go home.” A tear ran down her face, making a stream through the dirt. She kicked at a piece of stone on the floor. “Ow!”

  It was Callie’s “ow” that steadied Luke. He straightened up. “We’re taking Adam, at least. Theo, we need your help. Did you find your glasses?”

  “Yes, but they’re a little twisted, and one lens popped out. I can’t find it. I have a monster headache.”

  “I’m sorry,” Luke said. “Let’s just get out of here so somebody can give you medicine for your headache.”

  “We’re never going to be able to move Adam,” Callie argued. “He weighs a lot. Luke, when I was outside I could tell the smoke is getting thicker. The fire is moving farther up the road.”

  While Luke had been concentrating on Colonel Donlin’s words, he hadn’t even thought about the fire. Now he felt how hot the air was, and he could taste the smoke.

  “We aren’t leaving him, and I can’t do it without you. Callie, you take his legs, and Theo and I will each grab under an arm.” Theo mumbled something too softly for Luke to hear, but he did shift around to Adam’s right side. Callie gave in and took her place at Adam’s feet. When everyone was in place Luke said, “I’ll count to three and we’ll lift him. One, two, three. Now!”

  They heaved Adam up. Theo was able to lift him clear of the ground, but Luke struggled to get him high enough not to scrape his body on the pieces of stone on the floor. Each step took too much time, as they tried to find level places to put their feet.

  Adam’s vest caught on a jagged piece of a beam and ripped.

  “Set him down,” Luke said. “Callie, can you pull it free?” Luke wished Adam would show some sign of life; even another moan would be encouraging.

  Callie pulled on the vest and more of it ripped.

  The roof creaked.

  “I don’t like the sound of that,” Theo said.

  “One big effort.” Luke tried to sound unworried, but he took a quick glance up. “Colonel, we’re leaving. Someone will be here soon.” The colonel didn’t answer, or at least Luke didn’t hear him.

  They struggled over the stones, and Luke knew Adam’s back was scraping on some of them, but it couldn’t be helped. It was like moving a giant, heavy rag doll, and none of them were strong enough to do the job easily. By the time they had him out of the building, they were all panting, trying to catch their breath. Sal still stood by the gate, watching them, yelling into his phone.

  They hauled Adam into the back of the jeep. “Okay, we’re ready to go,” Luke said, trying not to panic at the crackling sounds from the road behind Sal. The smoke was getting thicker.

  “Luke,” Sal yelled, “get Adam’s earpiece and microphone off him and use them so I can talk to you. I need to tell you how to avoid the defense system.”

  “The colonel already explained,” Luke yelled back. “I’ve got it. Sal, get out of here. Theo, unclip the microphone from Adam’s cuff; then if you take out his earpiece, you can pull out the wire that runs up his sleeve.”

  Theo was looking at his watch again. “I think the helicopter will be here in about ten minutes. We should wait.”

  “Sal will be dead in a few minutes if he doesn’t move!” Luke screamed. He sucked in a breath of air to yell again, but the hot taste of the smoke made him cough instead. “I’ll do it myself. I’m going, and Callie’s going too, right?” He didn’t want to look at Callie in case she agreed with Theo. “You do what you want.” Luke got the microphone and earpiece without having to shift Adam around too much. He hoped all the moving they were doing wasn’t going to make Adam worse.

  “I don’t want to just stand around,” Callie said. “The helicopter will find us wherever we go, and I want to get farther away from the fire.”

  “Okay, I’ll go.” Theo climbed in the passenger side and buckled his seat belt. “I’m already having trouble breathing.”

  “What about Comet?” Callie asked. She was still standing by the jeep.

  Luke hadn’t even been thinking about Comet; he had been too worried about everyone else. “He followed me out of the building. I don’t know where he went. Comet! Comet!” When the dog didn’t appear, Luke said, “He’ll probably run after us once we start going. We have to leave so Sal will go too.” Sal was the one in the most danger.

  “You’re so determined not to leave Adam behind,” Callie said. “I’m not leaving Comet.” She ran back to the gatehouse.

  “Callie!” Luke pounded his fists on the steering wheel in frustration. “She hated Comet a half hour ago. I don’t understand.”

  “Me neither.” Theo took off his glasses and tried to straighten them. “But then, I don’t understand any girls.”

  Callie came back carrying Comet. “He was lying by Isabelle’s SUV. I don’t know why he didn’t come when you called him. I hope he’s not hurt.”

  “We can’t worry about that now. He has to sit in the back with you,” Luke warned. “He’s caused enough trouble today.”

  “Okay, okay, he’s being very quiet anyway.” Callie climbed in the back.

  Once everyone was in, Luke glanced back at Sal and gave a strangled cry. Tendrils of fire were only feet away from the agent, advancing on him fast. Sal was still talking into his phone, staring at the fire as if he couldn’t believe it would come any closer. Flaming leaves fell from the trees, the wind catching them and blowing them in crazy patterns. One hit Sal’s shirt and he jumped back, trying to brush it away, but it disintegrated into tiny embers, speckling his hand. He jerked it back and turned to Luke, his face an unreadable mask.

  “We’re going now!” Luke yelled. “Run, Sal!”

  22

  The Back Gate

  “Stay close to the fence!” Sal shouted as he plunged into the forest. Luke started the
jeep and pushed on the gas pedal. The engine roared.

  “Wait!” Theo said.

  “What?”

  “Buckle your seat belt.”

  In any other situation Luke would have laughed. Leave it to Theo to remember seat belts.

  “Don’t gun it,” Callie said. “Just push on the gas a bit.”

  “I know, I know,” Luke said. He handed Theo the microphone and the earpiece. “See if you can talk to Sal.”

  Luke knew how cars operated; he had just never driven one. Taking a deep breath, he put the jeep in gear and gave it some gas. The jeep jolted forward and he pushed hard on the brakes.

  “Let me drive, Luke,” Callie said. “I can drive.”

  “No, I’ve got it. I was just getting used to it.” He pushed on the gas pedal again, more gently this time, and the jeep moved forward. “Hold on,” Luke said. “Since we can’t drive on the road, it will be rough.”

  It was rough. Luke hadn’t expected it to be so tricky to hold the steering wheel when the jeep bounced over a rock or an exposed root. It was hard to figure out how much to turn the steering wheel without going too far, and he threw himself and everyone else from side to side until he got the hang of it. He could still hear the sirens in the distance, but the sound was so constant, it was easy to ignore now.

  “Why can’t we go on the road? How is the helicopter going to land in the woods? I don’t want to get lost in there,” Callie said.

  “We won’t get lost. Camp David is like a big doughnut, with the road cutting it almost in half.”

  “What? A doughnut? What are you talking about?” Callie said.

  Luke could picture the layout of the camp in his head, but he realized it would be hard to explain to Callie. She hadn’t been here long enough to understand it easily. “We don’t have time now. I’ll tell you later. Just trust me,” he said.

  “Let me drive,” Callie said. “I drive the pickup at the ranch. You sit in the back.”

  “No, I’m driving.”

  “Who made you the boss?” Callie said. “I’m sure I can drive better than you.”

  “Look, Callie, I know how to get to the back gate. You don’t. And I drive the golf carts all the time.” A golf cart couldn’t be too different from a jeep, Luke thought. He wanted to add that he had no intention of moving out of the driver’s seat, but he knew that would make Callie mad.

  “Theo, what about Sal?” Luke asked, hoping Callie would stop arguing.

  Theo put the earpiece in his ear. “Sal! Sal! Can you hear me?” he yelled. He listened for a moment. “Sal can hear me. He says I don’t need to yell. He’s following the fence around the outside to the back gate. He said we would get there before he does, so we’re supposed to wait for him before we open the gate.” Theo turned the microphone over in his hand. “One of the wires connected to the microphone is almost broken. I hope it holds together long enough.”

  Luke felt better knowing Sal was going along with the plan. As far as he could figure, it shouldn’t take Sal more than twenty minutes to get to the other gate. It couldn’t be more than a mile or two.

  “I heard you,” Theo said into the microphone. “Sal says we’ll have to get out in an open area once the helicopter gets here.”

  “They’d better hurry,” Luke said. “I’ve been in enough of them to know they don’t do so great in fog, and the smoke is getting worse fast.”

  Theo wasn’t listening. “Sal says they’re going to put your dad through in a minute. He’s on Air Force One. Stop so I can give you the earpiece.”

  “No, just hold it up to my ear.” Luke felt as if the fire were really chasing them now. If he stopped, he was afraid something terrible would happen.

  Theo shook the earpiece. “Something went wrong,” he said. “Sal, I can’t hear you anymore. Are you there?”

  “Did you lose the connection?” Luke slowed the jeep.

  “Sal, are you there? I guess we did lose it,” Theo said. “Sal just said to hold on for a minute; then there was a noise, then nothing.”

  “Maybe when they tried to patch my dad through to Sal’s frequency, something went wrong. Just keep listening. With all the equipment they have on Air Force One, they can let my dad talk to anyone anywhere.”

  Adam gave a loud moan from the back. Luke looked back to see Comet, sitting in the backseat, licking Adam’s face.

  “Adam, can you hear me?” Callie asked.

  Luke didn’t hear a response. “Is he waking up, Callie?”

  “No, his eyelids moved but they didn’t open. Does anybody else notice it’s getting darker? I didn’t know it would get darker.” Her voice was small again.

  “I think we should keep moving,” Luke said. He didn’t like the darkening sky either. “The helicopter is on its way and I have my locator disk. We’ll see Sal in a few minutes anyway.”

  “What about just using a cell phone to talk to Sal?” Callie asked. “Or is that too normal and not high-tech enough? Who has a cell phone?”

  “I do,” Theo said, “but not here. They wouldn’t let me bring it. You have to have security clearance to have cell phones here.”

  “Wait, we should get Adam’s phone,” Luke said. “All the agents have satellite phones, so his should work no matter what. Callie, it’s in his vest. We can call Sal, except I don’t know what his number is.” Luke had never had a reason to call Sal.

  “We can just dial nine-one-one,” Callie said. “That’s what regular people do in an emergency.”

  “Okay,” Luke said. “Where’s Adam’s phone?”

  “I can’t find it,” Callie said. “Part of a pocket is ripped. I think it fell out when we were moving him.”

  Luke stopped the jeep, all of a sudden uneasy that they couldn’t talk to Sal.

  “It’s at the gatehouse. We should go back,” Theo said.

  Behind them Luke could see the smoke thickening.

  “No, we don’t need it. We have the code. You remember it. Right, Theo?”

  “Of course I remember it. It’s four-nine-eight-three-two-eight. How open is the ground around the back gate? Can the helicopter land there?”

  “They can land on the road either right inside or right outside the gate. They’ve cleared the trees just like at the front gate, and those pilots can land in really small areas.”

  Luke put the jeep back in gear. This time, he did a better job of steering, even though he still had to fight to keep the vehicle from swerving too much or hitting anything too big.

  “Luke, why is there more smoke in front of us? I thought the fire was coming from the other way.” Callie’s voice trailed off. She was right. The sky in front of them was starting to get as dark as the sky behind them.

  “I don’t know. The back gatehouse is right up ahead.” They came over a small rise and Luke pushed on the brake so quickly he felt like he was going to fly over the windshield. Outside the back gates they could see fire in the distance, treetops blazing, sparks jumping and dancing in the air. A pine tree caught fire with a loud popping sound, exploding like a huge firecracker.

  “What’s the fire doing here?” Callie screamed. “It’s not supposed to be here. What are we going to do? We can’t use the road!” She climbed out of the jeep and ran a few feet toward the gate and then stopped. “Luke!”

  Luke didn’t understand how the fire had gotten here. The back road ran out of the park to the northwest. If the fire started in the east, it shouldn’t be on this side of Camp David.

  “It’s weird the fire is here too,” Luke said. “It shouldn’t be.”

  “Well, it is,” Callie snapped. “I hate this place.” Luke knew Callie was really frightened now, because those were the times she tried to cover her fear with anger.

  “I think fires started in more than one spot because of the earthquake. Fires are the most common danger from earthquakes after the initial damage.” Theo looked around as if he had lost something. “I wish I had my notebook. I could draw a map.”

  “What good would a
map do us?” Callie pounded on the hood of the jeep. “What’s wrong with you two? You act like you’re not even scared.”

  Luke realized he hadn’t thought that much about being scared. He had been so busy concentrating on his plan, he guessed he hadn’t had time. Besides, he knew his dad and Sal would figure out what to do.

  “This is really not good,” Theo said. “I don’t know if anyone can get through the fire to us.”

  “Don’t just sit there. I don’t think the fire is all the way to the gates yet. The wooden fence isn’t on fire. We can open the gates and get out ourselves.” Callie pointed back behind them, the way they had come. “We know there’s fire that way.” She pointed in front of them. “And we know there’s fire that way, so we go this way.” She pointed out to the left. “What way is that?”

  “It’s sort of southwest,” Luke said.

  “Well, there isn’t any fire there yet that we know about. Once we get through the gates that way should still be clear, and we can go through the forest until we find somebody. Let’s go.”

  “Callie, it would be really hard to get the jeep through the forest. They don’t clear out all the underbrush like they do inside the fence, and Adam can’t walk,” Luke said.

  “We’ll leave him here and go find someone to help him. Come on, Theo. Let’s open the gate.”

  “I’m not leaving Adam.”

  “Theo, go on,” Callie said. “You’re the one with the code.” Theo was out of the car and inside the gatehouse before Luke could stop him.

  “Wait,” Luke yelled. Now that they were here, he didn’t feel as sure of himself.

  Theo stuck his head out the gatehouse door. “What?”

  “Sal told you to wait until he got here.” It was strange for Luke to move around without any agents nearby. They had been with him so long, like some sort of human armor all around him, he hadn’t ever thought about how it would feel without them. He tapped his fingers on his legs, uneasy.